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About mwestcott

Thanks, everyone, for your input.
So it sounds like the CO has some say or will give advice regarding filing income tax forms (990's)? Another reason to have a CO....
Can anyone clarify for me why a pack has to file at all, if it is owned by a CO?
Thanks again for everyone's help!!
Mimi

Ohh... So is it correct that a non-profit does not have to file any tax forms at all?
If that is the case, then it would make sense that a pack sponsored by that non-profit CO would not have to file any forms either.
Thanks!
Mimi

Hi all,
After all the great advice I got for my other question (opening a bank account), I just had to ask another question re: money....
How do I handle the pack's money?
Let's say we have a treasurer who has successfully opened a bank account (still hypothetical in our case...). In the fall, the scouts and leaders pay their pack registration fees, and the pack deposits the money into the bank account. Throughout the fall, we receive money from popcorn sales. The treasurer receives monthly bank statements and reconciles the account, and everything looks good. Our total income for the fall is ~$1000.
In December(?) we recharter the pack. In January, we pay the registration fees for all the scouts and leaders. Throughout the year, we have various expenses (Pinewood derby, badges, activity supplies, reimbursements for other expenses).
Here are my questions, based on the above scenario:
Does the CO have anything to do with the pack's money? Does the pack have to file income tax forms for its registration fees and popcorn sales? Or does the CO include our money in their returns? Do we need to prepare any forms or reports for the CO?
Is there any information "out there" that can help me understand the financial relationship between the CO and the pack?
Thanks very much for your help!
Mimi

Thanks for everyone's comments and information on self-chartering.
I have learned a lot and have forwarded parts of this thread to my DE. We are going to renew our search for a CO.
Thank you all for wanting to spare me a lot more misery and frustration!!
Mimi

Thanks, boomerscout, SSScout and Scoutnut, for your replies.
As for the purpose of the pack - we are starting a pack for homeschoolers to provide as much of the scouting experience as possible for the boys. My family has been involved in a "regular" (non-homeschooled) pack for a couple of years, and in addition to the meeting times being inconvenient for us (evenings), I was frustrated because we were unable to do more activities, due to the other families' work and school schedules.
We now have 8 families and 11 scouts. I cannot tell you where we will be next year, or 5, 10, 15 years from now. My hope is that we continue to grow to become a positive resource for homeschoolers for years to come. However, if there are no homeschoolers that are interested in scouting, in my mind, *that* will be the deciding factor, not whether we were self-chartered or had a CO.
But I am here to learn about getting a bank accout for a self-chartered pack, and what I am learning is that even though we are "BSA legal" with our 5 signatures on a piece of paper (and all of them registered, pd for and YPT'd), for pack stability and other practical reasons (e.g., bank account), it may not be desirable to be self-chartered.
It isn't clear to me how big a role the CO plays in running the pack - it was presented to me as almost unnecessary, that all they do is provide a meeting place for the pack. Maybe this is a good time to ask scouter.com about that, too!
Still learning! Thanks again for all of your responses!
Mimi

Thanks, SSScout, for your break-down of these machinations. It proves once again that I am not prepared to make this decision without some guidance!
"No one outside the actual Pack cared for the Pack.
When your group of interested parents move on when your boys age out or drop out, what will happen to the Pack?"
I guess I imagined that, after our boys move on, if no one is interested in participating in the pack, then the natural consequence would be that the pack would close. Is that a bad thing? Or perhaps morph into a Troop, as time goes on.
Thanks,
Mimi

Thanks, Beavah. BTW, would you mind telling me what accent you are typing with? It would really help in my mental translation. Boston? Maine? Scotland? Louisiana? I can't figure it out!
As far as hooking up with a CO is concerned, I originally asked my church if they would. They said that it was not the right time for them (they are in the middle of building a new building and would not have any space for us to meet). While researching CO's, I realized what a commitment it is for an organization to sponsor a pack, and I didn't want to partner up with just any organization that I knew nothing about. While waiting for my church's response, I had asked my DE what our other options were. He said he could put together a "group of concerned citizens" for us and also said that if 5 of our parents signed a letter, we could be our own chartering organization. That seemed perfect to us.
Only now, as I look at the paperwork for the EIN, do I realize that this self-chartering is a little trickier than it was first presented to me. I had not realized that we would need by-laws, and until I read some other posts on this website, it had not occurred to me that other parents could be "disputatious"....
Thanks very much, everyone, for your feedback!
Mimi

"In order to be able to charter a BSA unit (Pack) you need to file the papers to become an actual organization (Friends of Pack 123)."
We wrote a letter to our council stating that we are "organizing for the purpose of creating a Cub Scout pack" and 5 adults signed it. This letter was accepted by the council. Is this what you are referring to, or do we need to do something else to become a legal entity?
"There should be a council volunteer who works with the council financials who might be able to help you also. "
I will look into this. My DE keeps saying that "it's easy" to open a bank account, but when I called a bank to do this, there were all kinds of legal forms to fill out, and the banker advised me to contact an accountant....
Thanks!
Mimi

Hi all,
I am looking for advice on opening a bank account for our new pack.
We are self-chartered, just a group of parents who got together.
Are there any financial people out there who can tell me the steps for opening a bank account for the pack? Do we need a tax ID? How do we get one? Will the pack need to file some kind of tax form in April? Since we don't have a CO, do we have to do anything special to be considered a "charitable organization"?
It is very important that the pack's income does not end up being reported on my personal income tax form.
Thanks for any help!
Mimi